Many containers are provided with tamper-resistant devices to resist refilling of contents in the containers. For example, a beverage container can include a fitment that renders the container non-refillable, so as to impede efforts to refill the container with inferior products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,811 illustrates a container of this type.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a product including a closure and a package opening indicator carried by the closure and adapted for use with a container to indicate whether the container has been opened and, thus, provide evidence of efforts to repackage the container with counterfeit product.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A product in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a closure having a radially inner portion, and being removably securable to a container, and a pendant releasably coupled to the radially inner portion of the closure, and being releasable from the closure into the container upon removal of the closure from the container.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a package that includes the aforementioned product and a container having a body and a neck with an interior, wherein the closure is removably secured to the container neck to removably close the container. The pendant is suspended from the closure in the interior of the container neck, such that when the closure is removed from the container, the pendant releases from the closure and drops into the container and is non-removably carried therein to provide an indication that the package has been opened from its original factory sealed condition.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a package that includes a container having a body and a neck with an interior, and a closure removably secured to the container neck to removably close the container, and a pendant in the interior of the container neck. The package also includes a means for releasably coupling the pendant to the closure, and a means for releasing the pendant from the closure upon removal of the closure from the container so that the pendant drops into the container and is non-removably carried therein to provide an indication that the package has been opened from its original factory sealed condition.
In accordance with a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a package that includes coupling a package opening indicator to a closure in a manner such that the pendant is releasable from the closure, filling a container with a flowable product, and applying the closure to the container to suspend the pendant within the container.